A History of the Work of Redemption

Isaiah 51:8. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

The design of this chapter is to comfort the church under her sufferings, and the persecutions of her enemies; and the argument of consolation insisted on is, the constancy and perpetuity of God's mercy and faithfulness towards her, which shall be manifest in continuing to work salvation for her, protecting her against all assaults of her enemies, and carrying her safely though all the changes of the world, and finally crowning her with victory and deliverance.

In the text, this happiness of the church of God is set forth by comparing it with the contrary fate of her enemies that oppress her. And therein we may observe,

1. How short lived the power and prosperity of the church's enemies are: The moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; that is, however great their prosperity is, and however great their present glory, they shall by degrees consume and vanish away by a secret curse of God, till they come to nothing; and all their power and glory, and so their persecutions, eternally cease, and they be finally and irrecoverably ruined, as the finest and most glorious apparel will in time wear away, and be consumed by moths and rottenness. We learn who those are that shall thus consume away, by the foregoing verse, namely those that are the enemies of God's people: Hearken unto me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law, fear you not the reproach of men, neither be you afraid of their revilings.

2. The contrary happy lot and portion of God's church, expressed in these words, My righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation. Who are meant as those that shall have the benefit of this, we also learn by the preceding verse, namely they that know righteousness, and the people in whose heart is God's law; or, in one word, the church of God. And concerning this happiness of theirs here spoken of, we may observe two things, namely 1. Wherein it consists; 2. In continuance.

(1) Wherein it consists, namely in God's righteousness and salvation toward them. By God's righteousness here, is meant his faithfulness in fulfilling his covenant promises to his church, or his faithfulness towards his church and people in bestowing the benefits, of the covenant of grace upon them; which benefits though they are bestowed of free and sovereign grace, as being altogether undeserved; yet as God has been pleased, by the promises of the covenant of grace, to bind himself to bestow them, so they are bestowed in the exercise of God's righteousness or justice. Therefore the apostle says, Hebrews 6:10. God is not unrighteous, to forget your work and labour of love. And so, 1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful, and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. So the word righteousness is very often used in scripture for God's covenant-faithfulness so it is used in Nehemiah 9:8. You have performed your words, for you are righteous. So we are often to understand righteousness and covenant-mercy for the same thing; as Psalm 24:5. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psalm 36:10 Continue your loving kindness to them that know you, and your righteousness to the upright in heart. And Psalm 51:14. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Daniel 9:16. O Lord, according to thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away. And so in innumerable other places.

The other word here used is salvation. Of these two, God's righteousness and his salvation, the one is the cause, of which the other is the effect. God's righteousness, or covenant-mercy, is the root of which his salvation is the fruit. Both of them relate to the covenant of grace. The one is God's covenant-mercy and faithfulness, the other intends that work of God by which this covenant-mercy is accomplished in the fruits of it. For salvation is the sum of all those works of God by which the benefits that are by the covenant of grace are procured and bestowed.

(2) We may observe its continuance, signified here by two expressions; forever, and from generation to generation. The latter seems to be explanatory of the former. The phrase forever, is variously used in scripture. Sometimes hereby is meant as long as a man lives. So it is said, the servant that has his ear bored through with an awl to the door of his master, shall be his forever. Sometimes thereby is meant during the continuance of the Jewish state. So of many of the ceremonial and Levitical laws it is said that they should be statutes forever. Sometimes it means as long as the world shall stand, or to the end of the generations of men. So it is said, Ecclesiastes 1:4. "One generation passes away and another comes; but the earth abides forever." Sometimes thereby is meant to all eternity. So it is said, "God is blessed forever," Romans 1:15. And so it is said, John 6:51. "If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever." Which of these senses is here to be understood, the next words determine, namely to the end of the world, or to the end of the generations of men. It is said in the next words, "and my salvation from generation to generation." Indeed the fruits of God's salvation shall remain after the end of the world, as appears by the sixth verse: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner, but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished." But the work of salvation itself towards the church shall continue to be wrought till then: till the end of the world, God will go on to accomplish deliverance and salvation for the church, from all her enemies; for that is what the prophet is here speaking of; till the end of the world; till her enemies cease to be, as to any power to molest the church. This expression, from generation to generation may determine us as to the time which God continues to carry on the work of salvation for his church, both with respect to the beginning and end. It is from generation to generation, that is, throughout all generations; beginning with the generations of men on earth, and not ending till these generations end, at the end of the world. Therefore we deduce from these words [reconstructed: this doctrine]:

DOCTRINE. The work of redemption is a work that God carries on from the fall of man to the end of the world.

The generations of mankind on the earth did not begin till after the fall. The beginning of the posterity of our first parents was after the fall; for all their posterity, by ordinary generation, are partakers of the fall, and of the corruption of nature that followed from it; and these generations, by which the human race is propagated, shall continue to the end of the world: so these two are the limits of the generations of men on the earth; the fall of man, the beginning; and of the end of the world, or the day of judgement, the end. The same are the limits of the work of redemption as to those progressive works of God, by which that redemption is brought about and accomplished, though not as to the fruits of it; for they, as was said before, shall be to all eternity.

The work of redemption and the work of salvation are the same thing. What is sometimes in scripture called God's saving his people, is in other places called his redeeming them. So Christ is called both the Saviour and the Redeemer of his people.

Before entering on the proposed History of the Work of Redemption, I would,

1. Explain the terms made use of in the doctrine, and,

2. Show what those things are that are designed to be accomplished by this great work of God.

First, I would show in what sense the terms of the doctrine are used. And, 1. I would show how I would be understood when I use the word redemption; and, 2. how I would be understood when I say, this work is a work of God carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world.

1. I would show how I would be understood when I use the word redemption. Here it may be observed that the work of redemption is sometimes understood in a more limited sense, for the purchase of salvation; for so the word strictly signifies, a purchase of deliverance; and if we take the word in this restrained sense, the work of redemption was not so long in doing. But it was begun and finished with Christ's humiliation. It was all wrought while Christ was upon earth. It was begun with Christ's incarnation, and carried on through Christ's life, and finished with his death, or the time of his remaining under the power of death, which ended in his resurrection: and so we say, that the day of Christ's resurrection is the day when Christ finished the work of redemption, that is, then the purchase was finished, and the work itself, and all that appertained to it, was virtually done and finished, but not actually.

But then sometimes the work of redemption is taken more largely, including all that God works or accomplishes tending to this end; not only the purchasing the redemption, but also all God's works that were properly preparatory to the purchase, or as applying the purchase and accomplishing the success of it: so that the whole dispensation, as it includes the preparation, and the purchase, and the application and success of Christ's redemption, is here called the work of redemption. All that Christ does in this great affair as mediator, in any of his offices, either of prophet, priest, or king; either when he was in this world, in his human nature, or before or since; and not only what Christ the mediator has done, but also what the Father and the Holy Ghost, have done, as united or confederated in this design of redeeming sinful men; or, in one word, all that is wrought in execution of the eternal covenant of redemption; this is what I call the work of redemption in the doctrine; for it is all but one work, one design. The various dispensations or works that belong to it, are but the several parts of one scheme. It is but one design that is formed to which all the offices of Christ do directly tend, and in which all the persons of the Trinity do conspire, and all the various dispensations that belong to it are united; and the several wheels are one machine, to answer one end, and produce one effect.

2. When I say, this work is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world; in order to the full understanding of my meaning in it, I would desire two or three things to be observed.

1. That it is not meant, that nothing was done in order to it before the fall of man. There were many things done in order to this work of redemption before that. Some things were done before the world was created, yea from all eternity. The persons of the Trinity were as it were confederated in a design and covenant of redemption; in which covenant the Father had appointed the Son, and the Son had undertaken the work; and all things to be accomplished in the work were stipulated and agreed. Besides these, there were things done at the creation of the world, in order to that work, before man fell; for the world itself seems to have been created in order to it. The work of creation was in order to God's works of providence: So that if it be enquired, which of these kinds of works is the greatest, the works of creation or the works of providence? I answer, the works of providence; because God's works of providence are the end of his works of creation, as the building a house, or the forming an engine or machine, is for its use. But God's main work of providence is this great work of God that the doctrine speaks of, as may more fully appear hereafter.

The creation of heaven was in order to the work of redemption: it was to be an habitation for the redeemed: Matthew 25:34. "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Even the angels were created to be employed in this work. Therefore the apostle calls them, "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," Hebrews 1:14. As to this lower world, it was doubtless created to be a stage upon which this great and wonderful work of redemption should be transacted: and therefore, as might be shown, in many respects this lower world is wisely fitted, in the formation, for such a state of man as he is in since the fall, under a possibility of redemption; so that when it is said, that the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, it is not meant, that all that ever was done in order to redemption has been done since the fall. Nor,

2. Is it meant that there will be no remaining fruits of this work after the end of the world. The greatest fruits of all will be after that. That glory and blessedness that will be the sum of all the fruits, will remain to all the saints after that. That work of redemption is not an eternal work, that is it is not a work always a doing and never accomplished. But the fruits of this work are eternal fruits. The work has an issue. But in the issue the end will be obtained; which end will never have an end. As those things that were in order to this work before the beginning of the world, as God's electing love, and the covenant of redemption, never had a beginning; so the fruits of this work, that shall be after the end of the world, never will have an end. therefore,

3. When it is said in the doctrine, that this is a work that God is carrying on from the fall of man to the end of the world, what I mean is, that those things that belong to this work itself, and are parts of this scheme, are all this while accomplishing. There are things that are in order to it that are before the beginning of it, and fruits of it that are after it is finished. But the work itself is so long a doing, even from the fall of man to the end of the world, it is all this while a carrying on. It was begun immediately upon the fall and will continue to the end of the world, and then will be finished. The various dispensations of God that are in this space, do belong to the same work, and to the same design, and have all one issue; and therefore are all to be reckoned but as several parts of one work, as it were several successive motions of one machine, to bring about in the conclusion one great event.

Here also we must distinguish between the parts of redemption itself, and the parts of the work by which that redemption is wrought out. There is a difference between the parts of the benefits procured and bestowed, and the parts of the work of God by which those benefits were procured and bestowed. As, for example, there is a difference between the parts of the benefit that the children of Israel received, consisting in their redemption out of Egypt, and the parts of that work of God by which this was wrought. The redemption of the children of Israel out of Egypt, considered as the benefit which they enjoyed, consisted of two parts, namely their deliverance from their former Egyptian bondage and misery, and their being brought into a more happy state, as the servants of God, and heirs of Canaan. But there are many more things which are parts of that work of God which is called his work of redemption of Israel out of Egypt. To this belongs his calling of Moses, his sending him to Pharaoh, and all the signs and wonders he wrought in Egypt, and his bringing such terrible judgments on the Egyptians, and many other things.

It is this work by which God effects redemption that we are speaking of. This work is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world; and it is so in two respects.

(1) With respect to the effect wrought on the souls of the redeemed; which is common to all ages from the fall of man to the end of the world. This effect that I here speak of, is the application with respect to the souls of particular persons, in converting, justifying, sanctifying, and glorifying them. By these things the souls of particular persons are actually redeemed, and do receive the benefit of the work of redemption in its effect in their souls. And in this sense the work of redemption is carried on in all ages of the world, from the fall of man to the end of the world. The work of God in converting souls, opening blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears, raising dead souls to life, and rescuing the miserable captivated souls out of the hands of Satan, was begun soon after the fall of man, has been carried on in the world ever since to this day and will be to the end of the world. God has always, ever since the first erecting of the church of the redeemed after the fall, had such a church in the world. Though oftentimes it has been reduced to a very narrow compass, and to low circumstances; yet it has never wholly failed.

As God carries on the work of converting the souls of fallen men through all these ages, so he goes on to justify them, to blot out all their sins, and to accept them as righteous in his sight, through the righteousness of Christ, and adopt and receive them from being the children of Satan, to be his own children; so also he goes on to sanctify, or to carry on the work of his grace, which he has begun in them, and to comfort them with the consolations of his Spirit, and to glorify them, to bestow upon them, when their bodies die, that eternal glory which is the fruit of the purchase of Christ. What is said, Romans 8:30. "Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified:" I say this is applicable to all ages, from the fall, to the end of the world.

The way that the work of redemption, with respect to these effects of it on the souls of the redeemed, is carried on from the fall to the end of the world, is by repeating and continually working the same work over again, though in different persons, from age to age. But,

(2) The work of redemption with respect to the grand design in general, as it respects the universal subject and end, is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world in a different manner, not merely by repeating or renewing the same effect in the different subjects of it, but by many successive works and dispensations of God, all tending to one great end and effect, all united as the several parts of a scheme, and all together making up one great work. Like an house or temple that is building; first, the workmen are sent forth, then the materials are gathered, then the ground fitted, then the foundation is laid, then the superstructure is erected, one part after another, till at length the top-stone is laid, and all is finished. Now the work of redemption in that large sense that has been explained, may be compared to such a building, that is carrying on from the fall of man to the end of the world. God went about it immediately after the fall of man. Some things were done towards it immediately, as may be shown hereafter; and so God has proceeded, as it were, getting materials and building, ever since; and so will proceed to the end of the world; and then the time will come when the top-stone shall be brought forth, and all appear complete and consummate. The glorious structure will then stand forth in its proper perfection.

This work in the former respect that has been mentioned, namely as to the effect on the souls of particular persons that are redeemed, by its being an effect that is common to all ages. The work in this latter respect, namely as it respects the church of God, and the grand design in general, is carried on, not only by that which is common to all ages, but by successive works wrought in different ages, all parts of one whole, or one great scheme, whereby one work is brought about by various steps, one step in one age, and another in another. It is this carrying on of the work of redemption that I shall chiefly insist upon, though not excluding the former; for one necessarily supposes the other.

Having thus explained what I mean by the terms of the doctrine: that you may the more clearly see how the great design and work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world; I say, in order to this,

I now proceed, in the second place, to show what is the design of this great work, or what things are designed to be done by it. In order to see how a design is carried on, we must first know what the design is. To know how a workman proceeds, and to understand the various steps he takes in order to accomplish a piece of work, we need to be informed what he is about, or what the thing is that he intends to accomplish; otherwise we may stand by, and see him do one thing after another, and be quite puzzled and in the dark, seeing nothing of his scheme, and understanding nothing of what he means by it. If an architect, with a great number of hands, were a building some great palace, and one that was a stranger to such things should stand by, and see some men digging in the earth, others bringing timber, others hewing stones, and the like, he might see that there was a great deal done; but if he knew not the design, it would all appear to him confusion. Therefore, that the great works and dispensations of God that belong to this great affair of redemption may not appear like confusion to you, I would set before you briefly the main things designed to be accomplished in this great work, to accomplish which God began to work presently after the fall of man, and will continue working to the end of the world, when the whole work will appear completely finished. The main things designed to be done by it are these that follow.

1. It is to put all God's enemies under his feet, and that the goodness of God should finally appear triumphing over all evil. Soon after the world was created, evil entered into the world in the fall of the angels and man. Presently after God had made rational creatures, there were enemies who rose up against him from among them; and in the fall of man evil entered into this lower world, and God's enemies rose up against him here. Satan rose up against God, endeavouring to frustrate his design in the creation of this lower world, and to destroy his workmanship here, and to wrest the government of this lower world out of his hands, and usurp the throne himself, and set up himself as god of this world instead of the God that made it. To these ends he introduced sin into the world; and having made man God's enemy, he brought guilt on man, and brought death and the most extreme and dreadful misery into the world.

Now one great design of God in the affair of redemption was, to reduce and subdue those enemies of God, till they should all be put under God's feet: 1 Corinthians 15:25. "He must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet." Things were originally so planned and designed, that he might disappoint and confound, and triumph over Satan, and that he might be bruised under Christ's feet, Genesis 3:15. The promise was given, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. It was a part of God's original design in this work, to destroy the works of the devil, and confound him in all his purposes: 1 John 3:8. "For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." It was a part of his design, to triumph over sin, and over the corruptions of men, and to root them out of the hearts of his people, by conforming them to himself. He designed also, that his grace should triumph over man's guilt, and that infinite demerit that there is in sin. Again, it was a part of his design, to triumph over death; and however this is the last enemy that shall be destroyed, yet that shall finally be vanquished and destroyed.

God thus appears gloriously above all evil; and triumphing over all his enemies, was one great thing that God intended by the work of redemption; and the work by which this was to be done, God immediately went about as soon as man fell; and so goes on till he fully accomplishes it in the end of the world.

2. In doing this, God's design was perfectly to restore all the ruins of the fall, so far as concerns the elect part of the world, by his Son; and therefore we read of the restitution of all things, Acts 3:21. "Whom the heaven must receive, until the times of the restitution of all things;" and of the times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord Jesus, Acts 3:19. "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."

Man's soul was ruined by the fall; the image of God was ruined; man's nature was corrupted and destroyed, and man became dead in sin. The design of God was, to restore the soul of man; to restore life to it, and the image of God, in conversion, and to carry on the restoration in sanctification, and to perfect it in glory. Man's body was ruined; by the fall it became subject to death. The design of God was, to restore it from this ruin, and not only to deliver it from death in the resurrection, but to deliver it from mortality itself, in making it like Christ's glorious body. The world was ruined, as to man, as effectually as if it had been reduced to chaos again; all heaven and earth were overthrown. But the design of God was, to restore all, and as it were to create a new heaven and a new earth: Isaiah 65:17. "Behold, I create new heavens, and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." 2 Peter 3:13. "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens, a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness."

The work by which this was to be done, was begun immediately after the fall, and so is carried on till all is finished at the end, when the whole world, heaven and earth, shall be restored; and there shall be, as it were, new heavens, and a new earth, in a spiritual sense, at the end of the world. Thus it is represented, Revelation 21:1. "And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away."

3. Another great design of God in the work of redemption, was to gather together in one all things in Christ, in heaven and in earth, that is all elect creatures; to bring all elect creatures, in heaven and in earth, to a union one to another in one body, under one head, and to unite all together in one body to God the Father. This was begun soon after the fall, and is carried on through all ages of the world, and finished at the end of the world.

4. God designed by this work to perfect and complete the glory of all the elect by Christ. It was a design of God to advance the elect to an exceeding pitch of glory, "such as the eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has ever entered into the heart of man." He intended to bring them to perfect excellency and beauty in his image, and in holiness, which is the proper beauty of spiritual beings; and to advance them to a glorious degree of honor, and also to an ineffable pitch of pleasure and joy; and thus to glorify the whole church of elect men in soul and body, and with them to bring the glory of the elect angels to its highest pitch under one head. The work which tends to this, God began immediately after the fall, and carries on through all ages, and will have perfected at the end of the world.

5. In all this God designed to accomplish the glory of the blessed Trinity in an exceeding degree. God had a design of glorifying himself from eternity; to glorify each person in the Godhead. The end must be considered as first in order of nature, and then the means; and therefore we must conceive, that God having professed this end, had then as it were the means to choose; and the principal means that he pitched upon was this great work of redemption that we are speaking of. It was his design in this work to glorify his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ; and it was his design, by the Son to glorify the Father: John 13:31-32. "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God also shall glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him." It was his design that the Son should be glorified, and should glorify the Father by what should be accomplished by the Spirit to the glory of the Spirit, that the whole Trinity, conjunctly, and each person singly, might be exceedingly glorified. The work that was the appointed means of this, was begun immediately after the fall, and is carried on till, and finished at, the end of the world, when all this intended glory shall be fully accomplished in all things.

Having thus explained the terms made use of in the doctrine, and shown what the things are which are to be accomplished by this great work of God, I proceed now to the proposed History; that is, to show, how what was designed by the work of redemption has been accomplished, in the various steps of this work, from the fall of man to the end of the world.

In order to this, I would divide this whole space of time into three periods:—the

First, reaching from the fall of man to the incarnation of Christ;—the

Second, from Christ's incarnation till his resurrection; or the whole time of Christ's humiliation;—the

Third, from thence to the end of the world.

It may be some may be ready to think this a very unequal division: and it is so indeed in four respects. It is so, because the second period is so much the greatest: for although it be so much shorter than either of the other, being but between thirty and forty years, whereas both the other contain thousands; yet in this affair that we are now upon, it is more than both the others. I would therefore proceed to show distinctly how the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, through each of these periods in their order; which I would do under three propositions; one concerning each period.

1. That from the fall of man till the incarnation of Christ, God was doing those things that were preparatory to Christ's coming, and working out redemption, and were forerunners and earnests of it.

2. That the time from Christ's incarnation, till his resurrection, was spent in procuring and purchasing redemption.

3. That the space of time from the resurrection of Christ to the end of the world, is all taken up in bringing about or accomplishing the great effect or success of that purchase.

In a particular consideration of these three propositions, the great truth taught in the doctrine may perhaps appear in a clear light, and we may see how the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world.

The End.

Isaiah 51:8. "For the moth will eat them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation to all generations."

The purpose of this chapter is to comfort the church in her suffering and under the persecution of her enemies. The argument for comfort is the constancy and permanence of God's mercy and faithfulness toward her. This faithfulness will be shown in His continuing to work salvation on her behalf, protecting her against every assault of her enemies, carrying her safely through all the changes of the world, and finally crowning her with victory and deliverance.

In this text, the blessedness of the church of God is set forth by contrasting it with the opposite fate of her enemies who oppress her. We can observe two things here.

1. How short-lived the power and prosperity of the church's enemies are. "The moth will eat them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool" — that is, however great their prosperity and however glorious their present state, they will gradually waste away and vanish under a secret curse of God until they come to nothing. All their power, glory, and persecution will permanently cease, and they will be finally and irrecoverably ruined, just as the finest and most glorious clothing will in time wear out and be consumed by moths and rot. We learn who these people are from the preceding verse — namely, the enemies of God's people: "Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, a people in whose heart is My law; do not fear the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings."

2. The contrasting happy portion of God's church, expressed in the words, "My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation to all generations." Who these are that receive this blessing we also learn from the preceding verse — those who know righteousness and the people in whose heart is God's law — in short, the church of God. Concerning the blessedness spoken of here, we can observe two things: first, what it consists of, and second, how long it continues.

(1) What this blessedness consists of — namely, God's righteousness and salvation toward His people. By God's righteousness here is meant His faithfulness in fulfilling His covenant promises to His church — His faithfulness in bestowing on His people and church the benefits of the covenant of grace. These benefits are given by free and sovereign grace, being entirely undeserved. Yet because God has been pleased to bind Himself to bestow them through the promises of the covenant of grace, they are given in the exercise of God's righteousness. Therefore the apostle says in Hebrews 6:10, "For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name." And in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So the word righteousness is very often used in Scripture for God's covenant faithfulness, as in Nehemiah 9:8: "You have carried out Your words, for You are righteous." Righteousness and covenant mercy are often used for the same thing, as in Psalm 24:5: "He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation." Psalm 36:10: "Continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart." And Psalm 51:14: "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness." Daniel 9:16: "O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away." This pattern appears in countless other passages as well.

The other word used here is salvation. Of these two — God's righteousness and His salvation — one is the cause and the other is the effect. God's righteousness, or covenant mercy, is the root, and His salvation is the fruit. Both relate to the covenant of grace. One is God's covenant mercy and faithfulness; the other refers to the work of God by which that covenant mercy is realized in its fruits. Salvation is the sum of all God's works by which the benefits of the covenant of grace are secured and bestowed.

(2) We can observe its continuance, expressed here by two phrases: "forever" and "from generation to generation." The latter phrase seems to explain the former. The word forever is used in various ways in Scripture. Sometimes it means as long as a person lives — as when a servant who has had his ear pierced to his master's door is said to serve him "forever." Sometimes it refers to the duration of the Jewish state, as when many ceremonial and Levitical laws are said to be statutes "forever." Sometimes it means as long as the world stands, to the end of the generations of mankind. So Ecclesiastes 1:4 says, "A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever." Sometimes it means throughout all eternity. Romans 1:25 speaks of God being "blessed forever." And John 6:51 says, "If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." The following words determine which meaning applies here — namely, to the end of the world, to the end of the generations of mankind, as expressed in the next phrase: "and My salvation to all generations." The fruits of God's salvation will remain beyond the end of the world, as Isaiah 51:6 makes clear: "Lift up your eyes to the sky, then look to the earth beneath; for the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants will die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not wane." Yet the work of salvation itself toward the church will continue to be carried out until the end of the world. Until then, God will go on accomplishing deliverance and salvation for the church from all her enemies — for that is what the prophet is describing. He will do this until the end of the world, until her enemies lose all power to trouble the church. The phrase "from generation to generation" helps establish the timeframe in which God continues to carry on this work of salvation for His church — both its beginning and its end. It is from generation to generation, spanning all generations, beginning with the first generations of men on earth and not ending until those generations end at the close of the world. From these words we draw this doctrine:

Doctrine. The work of redemption is a work that God carries on from the fall of man to the end of the world.

The generations of mankind on earth did not begin until after the fall. The beginning of the descendants of our first parents came after the fall, for all their descendants by natural generation are partakers of the fall and of the corruption of nature that followed from it. These generations, by which the human race continues, will last until the end of the world. So the fall of man marks the beginning, and the end of the world — the day of judgment — marks the end. These same boundaries define the work of redemption as it concerns God's progressive works by which that redemption is brought about and accomplished, though not as it concerns the fruits of redemption — for those, as noted above, will continue for all eternity.

The work of redemption and the work of salvation are the same thing. What Scripture sometimes calls God's saving His people, it elsewhere calls His redeeming them. So Christ is called both the Savior and the Redeemer of His people.

Before entering on the proposed History of the Work of Redemption, I will do two things.

1. Explain the terms used in the doctrine, and,

2. Show what things are designed to be accomplished by this great work of God.

First, I will show how the terms of the doctrine are to be understood. Specifically, 1. how I use the word redemption, and 2. how I mean it when I say this work is a work of God carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world.

1. Here is how I use the word redemption. It should be noted that the work of redemption is sometimes understood in a narrower sense, referring only to the purchase of salvation — for the word strictly means a purchase of deliverance. Taken in this restricted sense, the work of redemption did not take a long time. It began and was completed during Christ's humiliation. It was accomplished entirely while Christ was on earth. It began with Christ's incarnation, continued through His life, and was finished with His death — or rather, with the period He remained under the power of death, which ended in His resurrection. So we say that the day of Christ's resurrection is the day He finished the work of redemption. That is, the purchase was then completed, and the work itself with everything belonging to it was virtually done and finished — though not yet actually applied.

But sometimes the work of redemption is taken in a broader sense, including everything God works or accomplishes toward this end — not only the purchasing of redemption, but also all God's works that were properly preparatory to the purchase, as well as the applying of the purchase and accomplishing its success. In this broader sense, the entire plan — including the preparation, the purchase, and the application and success of Christ's redemption — is what I call the work of redemption. This includes everything Christ does as mediator in any of His offices — whether prophet, priest, or king; whether He acted in this world in His human nature, or before or since. It also includes everything the Father and the Holy Spirit have done as united in this design of redeeming sinful men. In a word, it is everything accomplished in the execution of the eternal covenant of redemption. I call this one unified work of redemption, for it is all one work — one design. The various acts and works that belong to it are simply the several parts of one plan. It is one design toward which all the offices of Christ directly tend, in which all three persons of the Trinity cooperate, and to which all the various works belonging to it are joined — like many wheels in one machine, serving one purpose and producing one result.

2. When I say this work is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, there are two or three things I would ask the reader to keep in mind.

1. I do not mean that nothing was done toward redemption before the fall of man. Many things were done toward this work before the fall. Some things were done before the world was created — indeed, from all eternity. The persons of the Trinity were, so to speak, united in a design and covenant of redemption. In that covenant, the Father had appointed the Son, the Son had undertaken the work, and everything to be accomplished was stipulated and agreed upon. Beyond this, things were also done at the creation of the world — before man fell — in preparation for that work, for the world itself appears to have been created in order to it. The work of creation was aimed at God's works of providence. So if one asks which is greater — God's works of creation or His works of providence — the answer is His works of providence, because they are the purpose for which creation exists, just as a house is built for its use or a machine is made to be operated. And God's chief work of providence is this great work described in the doctrine, as will become more fully clear in what follows.

Heaven itself was created in preparation for the work of redemption — it was to be the dwelling place of the redeemed. Matthew 25:34 says, "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'" Even the angels were created to serve in this work. The apostle therefore calls them "ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14). As for this lower world, it was undoubtedly created as the stage on which this great and wonderful work of redemption would be carried out. And so, as could be shown in many respects, this world was wisely shaped at its formation for the condition of mankind since the fall — living under the possibility of redemption. So when I say the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, I do not mean that everything ever done in preparation for redemption has taken place since the fall. Nor,

2. I do not mean that there will be no remaining fruits of this work after the end of the world. In fact, the greatest fruits of all will come after that. The glory and blessedness that is the sum of all the fruits will remain with all the saints forever. The work of redemption is not an eternal work in the sense of being always in progress and never completed. But the fruits of this work are eternal fruits. The work has an end. When that end comes, the goal will be reached — and that goal will never itself come to an end. Just as the things that prepared for this work before the beginning of the world — such as God's electing love and the covenant of redemption — had no beginning, so the fruits of this work that follow the end of the world will have no end. Therefore,

3. When the doctrine says this is a work God carries on from the fall of man to the end of the world, what I mean is that everything belonging to this work — all the parts of this plan — is being accomplished throughout that entire span. Some things that are preparatory to it come before it begins, and some fruits of it come after it is finished. But the work itself is long in the doing — spanning from the fall of man to the end of the world — and it is being carried on throughout. It began immediately after the fall and will continue to the end of the world, when it will be finished. The various works of God during this period all belong to the same work and the same design, and they all have one outcome. They are therefore to be regarded as the several parts of one work — like the successive movements of one machine that together bring about one great final result.

Here we must also distinguish between the parts of redemption itself and the parts of the work by which that redemption is accomplished. There is a difference between the parts of the benefits that are secured and bestowed, and the parts of the work of God by which those benefits were secured and bestowed. For example, there is a difference between the parts of the benefit the children of Israel received — their redemption out of Egypt — and the parts of the work of God by which that redemption was accomplished. The redemption of the children of Israel out of Egypt, considered as the benefit they enjoyed, consisted of two parts: their deliverance from Egyptian bondage and misery, and their being brought into a more blessed state as servants of God and heirs of Canaan. But there are far more things that belong to the work of God called His work of redeeming Israel out of Egypt. To that work belong His calling of Moses, His sending him to Pharaoh, all the signs and wonders He performed in Egypt, His bringing terrible judgments on the Egyptians, and many other things.

It is this work by which God brings about redemption that we are discussing. This work is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, and it is so in two respects.

(1) With respect to the effect worked in the souls of the redeemed, which is common to all ages from the fall of man to the end of the world. This effect refers to the application of redemption to the souls of individual people — their conversion, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Through these things the souls of individual people are actually redeemed and receive the benefit of the work of redemption in its effect in their souls. In this sense the work of redemption is carried on in every age of the world, from the fall of man to the end of the world. God's work of converting souls — opening blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears, raising dead souls to life, and rescuing captive souls from Satan's grip — began soon after the fall, has been carried on in the world ever since, and will continue to the end of the world. God has always, ever since He first established the church of the redeemed after the fall, maintained such a church in the world. Though it has often been reduced to a very small remnant and humble circumstances, it has never completely failed.

As God carries on the work of converting the souls of fallen men throughout all these ages, He also goes on to justify them — blotting out all their sins and accepting them as righteous in His sight through the righteousness of Christ, and adopting them from being children of Satan to be His own children. He likewise goes on to sanctify them, carrying forward the work of grace He has begun in them, comforting them with the consolations of His Spirit, and glorifying them — bestowing on them, when their bodies die, the eternal glory that is the fruit of Christ's purchase. Romans 8:30 says, "And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." This applies to every age from the fall to the end of the world.

The way the work of redemption — with respect to its effects on the souls of the redeemed — is carried on from the fall to the end of the world is by repeating and continually working the same work again and again in different individuals, from age to age. But,

(2) The work of redemption, with respect to the overall design as it concerns the whole and its ultimate end, is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world in a different manner — not merely by repeating the same effect in different individuals, but by many successive works and acts of God, all aimed at one great end, all united as the parts of a single plan, and all together constituting one great work. This is like a building under construction: first the workers are sent out, then the materials are gathered, then the ground is prepared, then the foundation is laid, then the structure is raised one part at a time, until at last the capstone is set in place and everything is finished. The work of redemption, in the broad sense described above, can be compared to such a building — one being constructed from the fall of man to the end of the world. God began it immediately after the fall of man. Some things were done toward it right away, as will be shown later, and God has been proceeding ever since — gathering materials and building, so to speak — and will continue until the end of the world. Then the time will come when the capstone is laid and the whole structure stands complete. The glorious structure will then stand in its full and perfect form.

In the first respect mentioned above — namely, the effect on the souls of the individual people who are redeemed — this work proceeds by accomplishing an effect that is common to all ages. In the second respect — namely, as it concerns the church of God and the overall design — the work is carried on not only by what is common to all ages, but by successive works accomplished in different ages, each a part of one whole, one great plan being brought about by various steps, one step in one age and another in another. It is this progressive carrying on of the work of redemption that I will focus on most, though not to the exclusion of the former, since the two necessarily depend on each other.

Having explained what I mean by the terms of the doctrine, so that you may more clearly see how the great design and work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world, I now proceed to the second point.

I will now show what the design of this great work is — what things it is meant to accomplish. To see how a design is carried out, we must first understand what the design is. To follow a workman's progress and understand the various steps he takes to complete a piece of work, we need to know what he is building — otherwise we could stand and watch him do one thing after another and be completely puzzled, seeing no plan and understanding nothing of his intention. If a great architect with many workers were building a palace, and a stranger who knew nothing of such things stood watching — seeing some men digging, others bringing timber, others cutting stone, and so on — he would see much activity but without knowing the design, it would all look like chaos. So that the great works and acts of God belonging to this great work of redemption will not appear like confusion to you, I will briefly set before you the main things this great work is designed to accomplish. God began working toward these things immediately after the fall of man and will continue working until the end of the world, when the whole work will stand complete. The main things it is designed to accomplish are as follows.

1. It is designed to put all God's enemies under His feet, so that the goodness of God would finally appear triumphing over all evil. Soon after the world was created, evil entered through the fall of the angels and of man. Almost immediately after God had made rational creatures, enemies rose up against Him from among them. Then in the fall of man, evil entered this lower world and God's enemies rose up against Him here. Satan rose up against God, working to frustrate His design in creating this lower world, to destroy His handiwork here, to wrest the governance of this world from His hands, and to set himself up as its god in place of the God who made it. To accomplish this, Satan introduced sin into the world. Having made man God's enemy, he brought guilt upon man and brought death and the most extreme and dreadful misery into the world.

Now one great purpose of God in the work of redemption was to overcome and subdue these enemies of God until all of them would be put under God's feet. 1 Corinthians 15:25 says, "For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet." From the very beginning, things were planned so that God would disappoint, confound, and triumph over Satan, and Satan would be bruised under Christ's feet. Genesis 3:15 records the promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. It was part of God's original design in this work to destroy the works of the devil and bring all his purposes to nothing. 1 John 3:8 says, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil." It was part of His design to triumph over sin and the corruption of men, and to root it out of the hearts of His people by conforming them to Himself. He also designed that His grace would triumph over man's guilt and over the infinite evil that is in sin. Furthermore, it was part of His design to triumph over death — which, though it is the last enemy to be destroyed, will finally be conquered and abolished.

God appearing gloriously above all evil and triumphing over all His enemies was one great purpose God intended through the work of redemption. God began the work by which this was to be accomplished as soon as man fell, and He will continue it until He brings it to complete fulfillment at the end of the world.

2. In doing this, God's design was to perfectly restore all the damage of the fall, as far as it concerns the elect, through His Son. This is why we read of "the restoration of all things" in Acts 3:21: "Whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time." And of "times of refreshing" from the presence of the Lord Jesus in Acts 3:19: "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."

Man's soul was ruined by the fall — the image of God was destroyed, man's nature was corrupted, and man became dead in sin. God's design was to restore the soul of man — to bring it back to life and restore the image of God through conversion, to carry on that restoration in sanctification, and to perfect it in glory. Man's body was ruined too; by the fall it became subject to death. God's design was to restore it from that ruin — not only to deliver it from death in the resurrection, but to deliver it from mortality itself by making it like Christ's glorious body. The world was ruined, as far as man was concerned, as thoroughly as if it had been reduced to chaos again; all of heaven and earth were overthrown. But God's design was to restore all of it — to create, as it were, a new heaven and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17 says, "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind." 2 Peter 3:13 says, "But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells."

The work by which this was to be accomplished began immediately after the fall and continues until all is finished at the end, when the whole world — heaven and earth — will be restored. There will be, in a spiritual sense, new heavens and a new earth at the end of the world. Revelation 21:1 describes it this way: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away."

3. Another great purpose of God in the work of redemption was to gather all things together in Christ — in heaven and on earth — that is, all elect creatures. He designed to bring all elect creatures, in heaven and on earth, into union with one another in one body under one head, and to unite that whole body to God the Father. This work began soon after the fall, is carried on through all ages of the world, and will be completed at the end of the world.

4. God designed by this work to perfect and complete the glory of all the elect through Christ. It was God's design to raise the elect to an extraordinary level of glory — "what no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and what has not entered the heart of man." He intended to bring them to perfect excellence and beauty in His image and in holiness, which is the proper beauty of spiritual beings. He planned to raise them to a glorious degree of honor, and also to an unspeakable height of pleasure and joy. In this way He would glorify the entire church of elect men in soul and body, and together with them bring the glory of the elect angels to its highest point — all under one head. The work moving toward this end began immediately after the fall, continues through all ages, and will be perfected at the end of the world.

5. In all of this, God designed to bring about the glory of the blessed Trinity to a surpassing degree. God had a design from eternity to glorify Himself — to glorify each person of the Godhead. The end must be understood as first in the order of design, and then the means. So we should understand God as having set this end, and then choosing the means to achieve it. The chief means He chose was this great work of redemption we are discussing. It was His design in this work to glorify His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and it was His design that through the Son the Father would be glorified. John 13:31-32 says, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately." It was His design that the Son would be glorified, and would glorify the Father through what the Spirit accomplished, to the glory of the Spirit — so that the whole Trinity together, and each person individually, would be supremely glorified. The work appointed as the means of this began immediately after the fall and continues until, and is completed at, the end of the world — when all this intended glory will be fully achieved in all things.

Having explained the terms used in the doctrine and shown what things this great work of God is designed to accomplish, I now turn to the proposed History — that is, to showing how the purposes of the work of redemption have been carried out through its various steps, from the fall of man to the end of the world.

To do this, I will divide this entire span of time into three periods:

First, reaching from the fall of man to the incarnation of Christ;

Second, from Christ's incarnation to His resurrection — the entire time of Christ's humiliation;

Third, from Christ's resurrection to the end of the world.

Some may think this a very uneven division — and it is, in an important respect. The second period is by far the greatest. Although it is much shorter than either of the others — spanning only thirty to forty years, while the others span thousands — in terms of this work of redemption, it surpasses both of the others combined. I will therefore proceed to show distinctly how the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world through each of these periods in order, which I will cover under three propositions, one for each period.

1. From the fall of man until the incarnation of Christ, God was doing things that were preparatory to Christ's coming and to the working out of redemption — things that were forerunners and pledges of it.

2. The time from Christ's incarnation to His resurrection was spent in securing and purchasing redemption.

3. The entire period from the resurrection of Christ to the end of the world is taken up with bringing about and accomplishing the great effect and success of that purchase.

By examining these three propositions in detail, the great truth taught in the doctrine may become clear, and we may see how the work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the world.

The End.